COUNTYWIDE : Officers Who Find Stolen Cars Honored

California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Hodges of Ventura vividly remembers finding one of the 12 stolen vehicles that he has recovered within the past year, a record that won him his second 10851 Auto Theft Award.

He spotted a Toyota pickup weaving on the highway and stopped the driver on suspicion of drunk driving.

She was wearing her pants inside out, and her shirt was unbuttoned down to her navel, he said.

The woman acknowledged that she had just met the man in the passenger seat and did not know the name of the car’s registered owner. A quick record check showed that she had been arrested on a previous occasion for prostitution.

Not surprisingly, it turned out that she had stolen the car, Hodges said.

Hodges will be one of hundreds of law enforcement officers this year who will win the 10851 Auto Theft Award, named after the criminal code number for auto theft.

For example, on Wednesday, seven Oxnard police officers will be honored for collectively recovering $634,032 worth of stolen cars and arresting 41 suspected car thieves.

The 11-year-old award program is jointly sponsored by the CHP Inland Division and the Automobile Club of Southern California as a way to help curb the number of car thefts.

In 1990, 2,362 vehicles were stolen in Ventura County, and of those, 1,939 were recovered, for a rate of 82.1%, said Guy Wysinger, district manager for the local Auto Club office.

To win the award, officers must either recover six “rollers,” cars with drivers who officers arrest, or 12 cars, three of which must be rollers.

An officer can also help break up a car-theft ring, making two arrests and recovering at least 10 cars.